Of Braces and Ice Cream
by dear.lilan
Summary: Keith has one more sucky thing happening to him, but Shiro is there. Pre Kerberos.


'Ugh, do I really have to?' Keith whines, looking up at Shiro, who shoves another spoonful of cereal down his throat.

'It's for the best.' He answers. 'Come on, it won't be that bad.'

'Of course you would say that', Keith rolls his eyes, 'it's not you who's spending the next two years in braces.' Keith sighs, and his pout returns. 'Please don't make me go.'

Shiro's face softens. After all, he knows what Keith is going through. He had to deal with it himself when he was younger. But Keith's case is more than just some aesthetic problem. No, he could actually get some serious problems when he's older. So the decision is final.

'I'm sorry buddy,' he says with a sympathetic smile, 'but you're really gonna have to bite the bullet.' He gets up and ruffles Keith's hair before putting his bowl on the sink. 'Hurry up, or we're gonna be late.'

'So? Show me, what colors did you get?' Shiro starts the car, making his way back to the cabin, with Keith on the passenger seat.

Keith has his arms crossed against his chest, and is looking down, pouting, showing no intentions of answering whatsoever.

'Come on, you can't be mad at me forever.' Shiro chuckles, glancing to his right. He gets a low grunt for an answer. 'Alright, so you don't feel like talking. Okay then.'

Keith looks out through the window, watching the other cars go by. He really doesn't want to talk to Shiro right now, and the moving view from the passenger seat might be the only thing that is able to somewhat calm him down a little.

'You know I really hate you for making me do this, Shiro.' He finally says after a while.

Shiro can't avoid a grin. 'Ah, it's nice to hear you talking again.' He parks the car outside of the house and watches Keith leave, closing the door behind him, and going inside. He follows him, with relaxed steps, trying to think of a way to make things easier for him.

He closes the front door and drops the car keys on the kitchen balcon. He hears Keith's bedroom door being closed, and immediately knows he'll be locked inside for a few hours.

It's almost dinner time, and Shiro finally sees Keith leaving his room and sitting down in front of the tv, propping his legs up on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

'Look who decided to come out.' He says, looking away from the article he was reading on his laptop. He glances at the watch and decides it's time to start making dinner. 'Hey, what do you want for dinner?' He asks in Keith's direction, checking the fridge to determine if they even had food.

'Something soft. My teeth hurt.'

Shiro feels momentarily guilty upon hearing this. He knew Keith would be in pain for the next few days, and despite the circumstances, he did feel bad for making him get braces. He turns to the fridge again.

'What about some pasta?', he asks, 'You think you can eat that?'

'I guess.'

'Alright then. Pasta it is.' Shiro starts making dinner, making sure to cook the pasta a little more to make it as soft as possible for Keith.

When he's almost done, Keith sets the two plates and sits down in front of the table, watching as Shiro put a portion of pasta on front of him. When they're both sitting down, they start to eat.

Shiro starts eating, glancing at Keith between bites. He's eating slowly and carefully, grimacing in pain every once in a while.

'Do you want me to cook it a bit more?' Shiro offers. 'You seem to be struggling a little.'

'No, you'd just ruin it.' Keith answers, and it's the first time Shiro gets a good glimpse of his braces. 'I think I'm gonna go study or something, I'm not even hungry.' Keith gets up and leaves to his room again, leaving Shiro alone.

'Hey, Keith, would you come out for a second?'

Keith leaves his room and shuffles towards the living room, surprised when he sees Shiro on the sofa, a pile of blankets next to him, holding two bowls of ice cream.

Keith sits down next to him, and Shiro puts down the bowls to cover both of them with a blanket. He hands Keith the bigger bowl and a spoon.

'How are your teeth feeling?' He asks.

'Sore.' Keith winces.

Shiro fiddles with the tv remote. 'I thought the ice cream might help. It's soft, so no need for chewing, and the cold helps with the pain. And I thought you could use some dinner'

Keith lets out a small smile. 'Thanks Shiro.' He starts eating, and sighs in relief when he realizes the ice cream actually helps.

'So, 'Back to The Future' or 'Star Wars'?

'Star Wars.' Keith replies, and snuggles closer to Shiro. 'We watched Back to The Future when you got sick two weeks ago.'

'Okay then.'

The movie starts, and Keith is feeling a little better. Late night movies under a blanket with Shiro and ice cream are one of his favorite things in the world.

'So do you still hate me?'

Keith looks away from the movie to face Shiro, and then down to his lap. 'I don't hate you. I just-'

'You're just upset about the situation.' Shiro finishes the sentence. 'It's okay. I understand. Is the ice cream helping?'

Keith nods. 'Yeah, it is.'

'I'm glad.' Shiro smiles.

 **A/N: I might add a second part with Lance and Hunk and Pidge ;)**


End file.
